Judging from yesterday’s market euphoria, that’s catnip for stocks, and the fun doesn’t look to be over just yet.

“Like any good hockey players who try to skate where the puck is going to be rather than where it’s been, it’s not likely, in our opinion, the market will retreat without taking a clear shot at new highs,” writes Gary Evans of the Global Macro Monitor blog.

The economy: The government is expected to report at 8:30 a.m. Eastern that the U.S. economy actually grew in the 2012 fourth quarter instead of declining 0.1% as originally reported. The reversal from contraction to growth is a result of higher levels of U.S. exports and construction spending than previously thought. At the same time, the Labor Department will report jobless claims, with analysts looking for the to be unchanged from the prior week’s big increase. After that, the February reading for the Chicago PMI will come out. Read: What to watch on the U.S. economy.

While the Fed tends to get the credit/blame for much of what we’re seeing in the market in recent years, Joe Weisenthal points to “an easy datapoint to counter with,” relating to the strength of corporate profits. He cited a note from BTIG’s Dan Greenhaus in saying that the S&P 500′s four-quarter trailing earnings per share has risen 129% since March 2009. Tellingly, the S&P 500 itself is up 128%.

The chart of the day: Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Take what we’re seeing on the Nasdaq-100
/quotes/zigman/12633930NDX, which has lead the way in the current bull market. It’s getting tired and could be heading for a correction, according to this illustration via the Short Side of Long blog. “To see a leading sector fail in its new bull market high confirmation, should be a worrying sign,” the author wrote in his chart-heavy post.

The call of the day: The action in Apple
/quotes/zigman/68270/quotes/nls/aaplAAPL shares yesterday “shows there is still too much hope left in this stock,” according to the CrackedMarket blog. Apple was in rally mode early Wednesday when rumors of a stock split started to spread, a move that “reeks of desperation as bulls grasp at straws.” In other words, after CEO Tim Cook failed to impress traders at the annual shareholders meeting yesterday, it’s best to stay away. “When all the faithful already own the company, who is left to buy?”

Gotta love Mexico. The leader of the country’s teachers union was arrested on suspicion of embezzling $200 million in union funds to help pay for plastic surgery, seaside homes and shopping sprees. She also offered regional union leaders 59 brand new Hummers in an effort to buy their loyalty. Read the whole crazy story.

Bill Ackman scored a 1530 on his S.A.T, and he’s still a bit miffed about missing those four questions. Read about that and also how he “wrote a check that his body couldn’t cash” in this excerpt from the upcoming April issue of Vanity Fair.

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Need to Know (NTK) guides investors to the most important, insightful items required to chart a course ahead of each trading day. Anchored by lead writer Shawn Langlois, NTK will sift through the fire hose of news, commentary and data, from traditional and non-traditional sources, and extract what’s most essential. You can start reading NTK here as it begins publishing at approximately 6:30 a.m. ET, or sign up here to get a version in your email box every morning at approximately 8:45. a.m. ET.